Foot growth gauge

ABSTRACT

A body molding  1  carries a separate foot support platform  5  and an integral heel stop  6  upstanding at the rear of the platform which is supported by an integral leg  8.  A slider  12  is engaged with the platform  5  for sliding movement in a front-rear direction, and includes an upstanding toe stop  14.  The platform  5  carries a length scale  21  from which the length of a foot can be measured according to the position of the slider along the platform, and a tape  20  is received in slots  19  on opposite sides of the slider  12  to form a width gauge for measuring the absolute width of the foot. The width gauge  20  is adjustable in a front-rear direction independently of the slider to allow the foot to be measured at its widest part. A relative width gauge is formed by a relative width scale  24,  carried with the slider, and an absolute width scale  23,  carried by the platform, comprises a series of parallel bands representing values of absolute width and which are inclined relative to the movement of the slider to intersect the relative width scale  24.  Thus, the absolute width of the foot as measured by the absolute width gauge  20  can be read on the scale  23,  and by noting the point at which the relevant band intersects the scale  24  the absolute width can be related to the length of the foot to provide a relative width reading.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to foot growth gauges as used formeasuring foot sizes for the purpose of fitting shoes. The subject gaugeis particularly intended for use in measuring infants and childrensfeet, although a version could be used for measuring adults feet.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Existing foot gauges are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,519,677, GB972 577, GB 1 481 649, GB 1 512 017 and GB 1 581 492. However, each ofthe prior art gauges are relatively complex with a considerable numberof parts which increases manufacturing costs. Furthermore, skill andexperience is required to use the known devices correctly.

[0003] The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive formof foot growth gauge which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy touse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention proposes a foot gauge including:

[0005] a body which includes a foot support platform having front andrear ends with a heel stop upstanding from the platform at the rear endthereof;

[0006] a slider which is engaged with the body for sliding movementalong the said platform in a front-to-rear direction and which includesan upstanding toe stop and a pair of guide elements disposed on oppositesides of the platform in fixed positions relative to the toe stop anddisposed between the toe stop and the heel stop, said guide elementsincluding guide slots which extend in the direction of movement of theslider;

[0007] an absolute width gauge comprising a flexible element insertedthrough said guide slots for measuring the absolute width of a footplaced on the platform, said flexible element being slidably adjustablerelative to the toe stop by movement along said guide slots formeasuring the width of a foot at its widest part within the length ofsaid slots;

[0008] a slider scale from which the length of a foot in contact withthe heels stop and the toe stop can be measured according to theposition of the slider along the platform; and

[0009] a relative width gauge comprising a relative width scale, carriedwith the slider, which extends substantially normal to the direction ofmovement of the slider, and an absolute width scale, fixed with thebody, which comprises a series of parallel bands representing values ofabsolute width and which are inclined relative to the direction ofmovement of the slider to intersect said relative width scale wherebythe absolute width of the foot as measured by the absolute width gaugecan be related to the length of the foot to provide a relative widthreading.

[0010] It will be appreciated that the absolute values of length andwidth could be in recognised units such as units of shoe size orcentimeters or example, or they could be in purely arbitrary units.

[0011] The flexible element may comprise a tape.

[0012] The body preferably comprises a body moulding. The platform ispreferably separate from the body moulding, and is preferablysnap-engaged with the body moulding for ease of assembly. The heel stopis preferably integral with the body moulding. The body mouldingpreferably comprises an integral support member which projectsdownwardly from its rear end, the support member comprising a singledownwardly projecting leg and, at the lower end of the leg, a forwardlyprojecting foot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The following description and the accompanying drawings referredto therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order toillustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings:

[0014]FIG. 1 s a plan view of a foot growth gauge in accordance with theinvention,

[0015]FIG. 2 is a side view of the gauge,

[0016]FIG. 3 is a front view of the gauge, looking from the right inFIGS. 1 and 2,

[0017]FIG. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section through the gauge,

[0018]FIG. 5 is staggered transverse section V-V of FIG. 1, and

[0019]FIG. 6 is a detailed plan view of the platform and slider of thefoot growth gauge showing the relative and absolute width gauge scales.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The foot growth gauge includes a flat, elongate moulding 1including a base wall 2 (FIG. 4) having a curved rear end 3 andsurrounded by an upstanding side wall 4. The moulding 1 carries aseparate foot-support platform 5, also moulded of plastics, which issnap-engaged with the wall 4 at the front and rear end of the mouldingfor ease of assembly. At the rear end of the moulding the curved portionof the wall 4 is extended upwardly to act as a heel stop 6 when a footis placed on the platform 5. Beneath the heel stop 6 the mouldingincludes an integrally formed depending leg 8 which ends in an integral,forwardly projecting support foot 9 to support the rear of the gauge inuse. The leg 8 and foot 9 could be provided as a separate moulding whichis secured to the base wall 2 using self-tapping screws, but althoughthis makes the moulding easier the use of a separate moulding may resultin an increase in the size of the gauge and increases assembly time andmanufacturing cost.

[0021] The upper edge of the wall 3 has opposed shallow notches orrecesses 11 on opposite sides of the platform 5 so that a slider 12 canbe engaged with the platform for sliding movement along the platform ina front-rear direction. The slider 12 includes a shallow U-shaped wall13 extending beneath the platform 5 (FIG. 4) which is bridged above theplatform by an integral toe stop 14. It will be noted that the toe stop14 includes a rear wall 15 which extends perpendicularly from theplatform 5, and a front wall 16 which extends downwardly in a forwarddirection to meet the platform 2 along its front-most edge 17.

[0022] The wall 13 of the slider is extended on opposite sides to form apair of narrow wings 18 (FIG. 1). The wings include slots 19 extendingin a front-rear direction, through which a measuring tape 20 isinserted. One end of the tape is prevented from being pulled out of theslot 19 by a head 26 (FIG. 2) secured to the tape. When a foot is placedon the platform the heel is placed against the heel stop 6 and theslider 12 is moved along the platform until the rear wall 15 of the toestop 14 just touches the toes. The measuring tape is slid along theslots 19 to the widest part of the foot, and the tape is then pulledaround the foot allowing the absolute width of the foot to be read offagainst the edge of the slot 19 using a width scale 27 which is markedon the tape in suitable units of measurement.

[0023] With the slider in the same position, the front edge 17 of thetoe stop 14 is used to read off the absolute length of the foot using alength scale 21 (FIGS. 1 and 6) marked on the upper surface of theplatform, as shown in FIG. 6. The length may conveniently be indicatedin shoe sizes.

[0024] It will also be noted that the platform also carries a secondscale 23 which is inclined relative to the direction of movement of theslider 14, and in addition, a relative width scale 24 is carried on theinclined front wall 16 of the toe stop 14. The second scale 23 comprisesa series of mutually parallel bands corresponding to the absolute widthreadings obtained from the measuring tape 20. These two scales are usedto ascertain the correct width fitting as follows. The bandcorresponding to the absolute value of the width measurement obtainedusing the tape 20 is located on the second scale 23, and the point atwhich this band intersects the edge 17 of the slider is noted. Therelative width can then be ascertained from the scale 24 which indicateswhether the foot requires a wide, medium or narrow shoe fitting.

[0025] It will be noted that for any given band corresponding to acertain measured foot width, the relative width will change from wide tomedium to narrow as the slider moves forwards along the platform. Thisfeature automatically takes account of the fact that a short foot with agiven width may be relatively wide whereas a longer foot with the samewidth will be relatively narrow.

[0026] The gauge is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use, enablingparents to obtain an accurate measurement of a childs absolute foot sizeas well as relative width.

1. A foot gauge including: a body which includes a foot support platformhaving front and rear ends with a heel stop upstanding from the platformat the rear end thereof; a slider which is engaged with the body forsliding movement along the said platform in a front-to-rear directionand which includes an upstanding toe stop and a pair of guide elementsdisposed on opposite sides of the platform in fixed positions relativeto the toe stop and disposed between the toe stop and the heel stop,said guide elements including guide slots which extend in the directionof movement of the slider; an absolute width gauge comprising a flexibleelement inserted through said guide slots for measuring the absolutewidth of a foot placed on the platform, said flexible element beingslidably adjustable relative to the toe stop by movement along saidguide slots for measuring the width of a foot at its widest part withinthe length of said slots; a slider scale from which the length of a footin contact with the heels stop and the toe stop can be measuredaccording to the position of the slider along the platform; and arelative width gauge comprising a relative width scale, carried with theslider, which extends substantially normal to the direction of movementof the slider, and an absolute width scale, fixed with the body, whichcomprises a series of parallel bands representing values of absolutewidth and which are inclined relative to the direction of movement ofthe slider to intersect said relative width scale whereby the absolutewidth of the foot as measured by the absolute width gauge can be relatedto the length of the foot to provide a relative width reading.
 2. A footgauge according to claim 1, in which the body comprises a body moulding.3. A foot gauge according to claim 2, in which the foot support platformis snap-engaged with the body moulding.
 4. A foot gauge according toclaim 2, in which the body moulding comprises an integral support memberwhich projects downwardly at the rear end of the platform, said supportmember comprising a single downwardly projecting leg and, at the lowerend of the leg, a foot which projects towards the front end of theplatform.